Victims claim scammers opened PNC bank accounts in their name

CHARLOTTE — Courtenay Vanderbilt told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke she recently received two pieces of mail. She said one was a letter from PNC Bank thanking her for her business.

“It had, ‘Thank you very much for opening three accounts.’ So I freaked out at that point because I knew something was suspicious,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it.”

She said the other letter had an actual debit card to go with those accounts.

“Anybody could have just thrown it in the trash and then you’ve got these accounts floating around,” she told Stoogenke.

She reported the crime to the FTC, police, Action 9 and others. She also warned people on Nextdoor.

So far, about a dozen people have reported to Action 9 that this has happened to them. PNC said it is working with law enforcement and taking steps to address the problem.

Stoogenke talked to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and detectives told him they’ve dealt with more than 40 of these PNC cases in less than week.

Why PNC?

CMPD said it could be because the bank is running a promotion right now -- open an account and get up to $300. Police are investigating if that’s the reason.

“We want people to protect themselves and we want to help with that,” CMPD Sergeant Seth Greene said.

Green is over financial crimes, and he said his unit is now investigating more than 40 reports of this scam in less than a week.

“It’s a digital age. Like everything, everything is convenient. We can do so many things from the pocket, from the phone in our pockets. We enjoy those conveniences, but we also have to deal with the headaches like this,” Greene said.

How easy is it for someone to open a PNC account in your name online?

He or she needs your basic information, Social Security Number and government ID.

How did the scammers get people’s information?

It could have been from a data breach (not a PNC one, but another one in recent years). Police are investigating that too.

PNC sent the following statement to Action 9:

“PNC is aware that banks are experiencing a broad increase in attempted fraudulent activity involving efforts by bad actors to open accounts on behalf of legitimate customers. We are working with law enforcement and taking steps to address this on behalf of our customers. We always encourage our customers to regularly monitor their accounts and to contact us immediately if they see any unfamiliar account activity, or if they receive notifications about accounts that they do not recognize.”

Advice:

• Open all your junk mail, especially if it says PNC. That’s how these victims found out.
• Keep a close eye on your bank accounts.
• Freeze your credit. (You can request a free copy from each of the three credit reporting agencies once every 12 months here. You may want to spread them out every four months.)
• Request a 90-day credit alert on your file so agencies will let you know if someone tries to get credit in your name.

If you fall victim:

• Tell PNC. You can call 888-PNC-Bank (888-762-2265) or stop by your local branch. (PNC says “customers will not be held responsible for verified unauthorized activity that is promptly reported.”)
• Tell police.
• Sign up for a credit monitoring service.

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